5 Reasons She’s Not Getting Pregnant

Single guys worry about “slipping one past the goalie.” But when you and your partner decide to start a family, scoring a goal may prove tougher than you anticipated.

Research suggests only 1 out of 5 couples have success the first month they start trying at getting pregnant, and nearly 20 percent won’t get lucky within the first year. Bottom line: Knocking up your partner isn’t always easy—even if you’re both healthy and fertile, says Tobias Köhler, M.D., chief of Southern Illinois University’s Fertility and IVF Center.

That said, if you and your girl have been trying for a while without success, these five crazy factors could explain your inability to conceive:

1. You Practice Too Close to the Big GameYour sperm count can decrease by as much as 50 percent if you ejaculate on a daily basis, Dr. Köhler explains. Sperm motility—or your swimmers’ ability to make it to your partner’s egg—also takes a hit every time you orgasm. That means guys hoping to have kids should knock off their usual masturbation habits in the week leading up to their attempts at conception, Dr. Köhler says. “It’s best if you lay off for at least 3 to 5 days before trying to conceive,” he adds.

2. Your Junk Might Be FaultyRoughly one out of every 100 men suffers from some form of hypospadias—or a misplaced urethra opening, Dr. Köhler says. Basically, this means the hole at the tip of your penis doesn’t sit in quite the right spot. “It could be just a small fraction off, and you’d never notice it,” he explains. “Or, in more extreme cases, it could be located well down the underside of your shaft toward your testicles.” This condition can screw up the trajectory of your ejaculate, making it nearly impossible for your “boys” to reach your partner’s cervix and egg. Guys with hypospadias may have to consider artificial insemination methods, Dr. Köhler says.

3. You’re Fueling Up with the Wrong FoodsBoth soy and dairy contain nutrients with estrogen-raising properties. And if your estrogen hormones become elevated in relation to your testosterone levels, your sperm production falls, Dr. Köhler explains. He recommends staying away from both soy and dairy while your partner is trying to get pregnant. (On the other hand, eating fruit, vegetables, and taking a multivitamin have all been shown to bolster your sperm counts and motility, he says.) Try our fertility recipes to eat your way fertile.

4. The Heat Is On (Your Lap)While old rumors about “tighty whities” and bike shorts are BS, Dr. Köhler says it’s true that hot tubs, saunas, and Jacuzzis can heat up your nuts to the point that your sperm production and motility plummets. Another possible sperm killer: working with a laptop positioned over your privates. If you’re sitting around in the heat with a hot laptop on your baby makers, you may be raising the thermostat to a level your sperm can’t handle, Dr. Köhler suggests. Keep your boys cool and increase your chances of getting pregnant with Snowballs Underwear.

5. You Puff Different StuffThere’s lots of evidence that smoking cigarettes hurts a man’s ability to reproduce. And Dr. Köhler says the same could be said for those guys with a regular pot habit. “The mechanisms aren’t well understood,” he says. But circulatory problems arising from smoking anything, not to mention inhaling toxins from marijuana that end up in your blood stream, could explain how smoking weed could negatively affect your chances at getting pregnant.

Snowballs are designed to increase your health and chances of getting pregnant.